Carnevale has come and gone and the Lenten season is in full swing. In case you missed it, I told my Facebook fans about my plan, not to give something up for Lent, but to spend a little time each day doing something for someone else. So … if YOU need something, just shoot me a message and if possible-and legal!-I’ll happily oblige.

One of the traditions I’m not tweaking this year is the Catholic obligation to abstain from meat on Fridays. This doesn’t mean you are sentenced to six weeks of grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese pizza. Oh no, my friends, Italian food was created for vegetarians. With the rich array of cheese, vegetables and pasta, there is no limit to what you can do senza carne.

To help you get started, here are five of my favorite meatless Italian recipes.

1. Pasta Puttanesca

This salty concoction takes its name from the ladies of the night, but with black olives, capers and anchovies, it doesn’t matter what it is called, as long as it good. And trust me, it is good.

2. Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta

Crunchy asparagus and fresh shrimp are sauteed in butter and tossed with penne pasta. Does it get any better than this?

3. Gorgonzola and Grape Bruschetta

You might think bruschetta is just an appetizer, but if you eat enough of it-and believe, you’ll eat a lot of it-then it is a safe bet you won’t go to bed hungry. This bruschetta recipe calls for a bit of cream cheese, Gorgonzola cheese, sauteed onions and plump red grapes. Yum!

4. Cacio e Pepe

This is one of my favorite Roman recipes and it is ideal for a meatless Friday during Lent, a quick, easy pasta dish at the end of of a long day or a nice surprise for your vegetarian friends … and really, Italian cooking doesn’t get any easier than this.

5. Pasta e Ceci (Chickpea pasta)

This pasta dish is like chicken soup for the Calabrian soul. It is healthy, it is hearty and it is wholesome. Oh, and it is also delicious.

What is your favorite meatless Italian recipe to cook during Lent?

PS: Gina of Warm October is the winner of a bottle of Calabrian Olive Oil and Paula of Paula’s Talk won  a $50 gift certificate to Monica’s Fine Foods. Thank you to everyone who played along and auguri to our winners!

Last week I introduced you to Monica Kripalani, founder of Monica’s Fine Foods in California, who traveled to bella Calabria last summer, fell in love with the area-and the food-and started selling Calabria olive oil in the US. I’m always interested in why people travel to southern Italy and even more excited to hear tales of their trip.

Today, Monica is sharing the story of how Monica’s Fine Foods and Davoli Extra Virgin Olive Oil met, feel in love and forged a relationship that is blessing people throughout America and Canada with some of Calabria’s liquid gold.

In case you missed it, there is still time for readers and bloggers alike to win either a free bottle of Calabria olive oil or a $50 gift certificate to Monica’s online store.

The details are right here.

Our Escape to Calabria and Discovery of Davoli Extra Virgin olive oil

On a hot June day in Sorrento, my husband and I boarded the train for a six-hour trip south to Lamezia Terme. We had purchased our second-class tickets in the US and this was our first European experience … we weren’t sure what to expect.

We dragged our bags into a six-person un-air conditioned-at least that day!-compartment, after weaving through luggage in the aisles on the train. An elderly couple who I fantasized were going to tell us a story about a visit with their grandchildren sat opposite us and and older signora sat by the window.

A nun-who was just transferred to a small town in Calabria-sat beside us. It was truly charming … real rural Italian charm at its best.

The look of grumpiness and smiles on the same faces puzzled us. Our seat companions did not speak English and our Italian was limited to “Buon Giorno” and “Gelato.” It was only when I asked the lady across the cabin if we could open the window that I realized what the other three had been trying to do with no avail.

“No,” she had told them. “You’ll mess up my hairand the noise in the tunnel will hurt my ears!”

But when I asked her … she immediately agreed!

We enjoyed watching the rural landscape as we traveled down to Lamezia Terme, where we were met by a friend and his family.

They bathed us in infamous southern Italian warmth and love. They introduced us to Calabria and to the Davoli family who made the most superb tasting pure extra virgin olive oil I have ever tasted in my life.

And this started my love affair with Calabria that I share today through my business at Monica’s Fine Foods.

Thanks, Monica and everyone else, be sure to sign up to win those prizes!

In bocca al lupo.

Did you know 25% of Italy’s olive oil comes from my favorite little region that is burrowed down deep at the toe of the boot? Well, it does.

It is also a staple in every Calabrian kitchen and is used in antipasto dishes, pasta plates, meat, fish and even desserts. In fact, it is a little joke around our house because most recipes don’t even list olive oil or garlic in their ingredients … because, you know, they are a given – you should know to use them.

Marcella Hazan, renowned Italian food writer and author of Marcella Cucina cookbook said, “The taste of a dish for which you need olive oil will be as good or as ordinary as the oil you use. A sublime one can lift even modest ingredients to eminent heights of flavor; a dreary oil will pull the best ingredients down to its own level. Partial clues to the quality of the olive oil you are buying are supplied by the label and the price, but ultimately, the only way to determine which one, among those available, is right for you is to taste and compare.”

And that’s where we come in.

Through the magical interwoven web of the Internet, I met Monica Kripalani, a new distributor of Calabrian olive oil whose recent trip to the mezziogiorno changed her life. After a brief tour through Calabria and into the hills of Lamezia Terme, Monica decided to open Monica’s Fine Foods to share her new-found love of Davoli Olive Oil with North America.

And that, my friends, means you.

Monica is giving away one 250ml bottle of Davoli Extra Virgin Olive Oil to one lucky Facebook Fan *and* a $50 gift certificate to a random blogger.

Interested, any?  Here are the details!

To be eligible to win the free 250ml bottle of Calabrian olive oil, all you need to do is become a Facebook fan of Monica’s Fine Foods before Friday, February 26 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time). At that point, Monica will randomly select a winner from her Facebook Fans and the winner will be announced here on My Bella Vita on Monday, March 1.

Bloggers, this part is for you …

For your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Monica’s Fine Foods, just  re-post this contest information in full on your website or blog by Friday, February 26 at 5:00 PM. Leave a comment here on My Bella Vita telling us about your post, and you will automatically be entered into the drawing.

Due to distribution restrictions, Monica can only ship items in the US and Canada, so if you have a US address … you are good to go!

In bocca al lupo!

What is your favorite way to use olive oil? I think a simple pasta with aglio, olio e peperonico (garlic, olive oil and red pepper) highlights good olive oil and brings out the flavors of spicy peppers. What about you?

*Pictures by Monica of Monica’s Fine Foods

Ahhh … it is here. The day we’ve waited for … longed for … dreamed about.

It is World Nutella Day 2010, so let me be one of the first people to say “Auguri,” and welcome you to the party.

Those of you who know me well, know I’m an avid party planner. I don’t wait until the last minute and I like to make sure all of my i’s are crossed and t’s are dotted.

Or something like that.

In fact, I started planning for Nutella Day back in December, when I created American-inspired dessert trays for my Italian friends and family. There were Rice Krispie trees. There were sugar cookie santas. And there were Nutella-filled powder cookies.

And they were good.

Unfortunately, you are just gonna have to take my word for it, because yesterday, when this highly organized, slightly anal-retentive planner went to write this post,  she (who also talks about herself in third person when she’s made a mistake) realized all of the pictures-every. single. one of them-was out of focus.

So I did what any hard-headed, Nutella-lovin’ girl would do … I cried to my husband.

And he came through.

For World Nutella Day 2010, I present you with my husband’s very own …

Orange Nutella Breakfast Cake

(Served to our bed and breakfast guests on World Nutella Day)

Ingredients:
>> 3/4 cup sugar
>> 1 cup all-purpose flour
>> 2 teaspoons baking powder
>> 3 eggs
>> 1/4 cup butter
>> Freshly squeezed juice from 3 large oranges
>> Nutella (depending on your tastes)

Directions:

1. Beat the eggs and sugar until peaks form.

2. Add the orange juice and continue mixing.

3. Slowly add the butter, flour and finally the baking powder, mixing well between each ingredient.

4. Bake in the over at 350° for 30 minutes.

5. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

6. Generously spread warmed nutella over the top of the cake.

7. Cut. Serve. Devour.

Buon Appetito!

By the way, you can also read about how we are celebrating World Nutella Day at our bed and breakfast today. In addition to the cake, of course.

Auguri, Nutellaphiles and thank you Sara and Michelle for another great year!

There is nothing like a good homemade Bolognese sauce in the winter months to stick to your ribs and warm you up from the blistery weather outside.

Yes, even in Calabria things get cold, and this Bolognese sauce is one of our old standbys. It’s Italian comfort food for the soul and when added to fresh fettuccine and topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese … life just doesn’t get much better.

photo credit: Jake Sutton

Ingredients:
(serves four)
>> 3 tablespoons butter
>> 3 tablespoons olive oil
>> 1 bouillon cube per 1/2 cup of water
>> 1 pound lean ground beef
>> 1/2 onion, finely chopped
>> 1 small carrot, finely chopped
>> 1 large jar of tomato sauce
>> 1/2 cup red wine
>> 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. In a small pot, boil 1/2 cup of water and add the bouillon cube.

2. In a separate pan, combine olive oil and butter and lightly stir until butter melts.

3. Saute the carrot and onion, then add the meat.

4. When meat is brown add the red wine.

5. Cook the meat sauce over low heat until the red wine evaporates.

6. Add 2/3 of the boiling water and the tomato sauce.

7. Cook over low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8. Add the rest of the hot water and continue to cook over low heat for 15 minutes.

9. Lightly salt the meat sauce, if needed, and add milk.

10. Heat thoroughly and serve!

Buon appetito!

I have a confession to make. A confession that could, in theory, get my Expat-in-Italy status revoked and have citizens from my adopted country kicking my country music listen’, Mexican food eatin’ butt back to Beaumont.

You see, the first gazillion times I had lasagna in Calabria-with only one exception-I pretty much hated it.

Gulp.

It is ok. I am still here …

That exception-the one time I enjoyed lasagna-I ate it up and I was convinced that it was because the chef, my husband’s Zia Rosa, had omitted that thick white cream besciamella sauce that is normally poured into the middle of Italian lasagna.

The thick cream always assaulted my palate and, at least at home, I’d scrape it off and hand it over to the cat.

The truth was, Zia Rosa did put besciamella in her lasagna.

Only it was homemade.

It wasn’t thick.

It wasn’t offensive.

It was delicious.

After a few phone calls, she shared her recipe and now I’m sharing it with you.

Zia Rosa’s Homemade Besciamella Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
>> 1/4 cup, flour
>> 2 ounces, butter
>> 2 cups, milk
>> dash, salt
>> dash, nutmeg

Directions:

1. Melt the butter over a low flame.

2. Add the flour and mix continuously until it becomes a cream and is very light tan.

3. Add the milk and continue to stir over a low flame.

4. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes creamy.

5. Add the salt and nutmeg and remove from the flame.

6. Continue stirring the mixture off of the flame for about a minute.

* If you prefer a thicker besciamella sauce, use more flour at the beginning.

While I’d love to say Buon Appetito here, you can’t eat besciamella alone. Stay tuned for more recipes that feature my new favorite cream sauce and feel free to use this homemade besciamella in your next lasagna!

My husband loves to reproduce our favorite restaurant dishes at home and well, this time … he might have outdone the chef. This tortellini recipe is soft. It’s flavorful. It’s delicious.

And best of all … it is easy! All you need is the time to boil your water and refill that wine glass.

Ingredients:
(Serves two)

>> 1 package spinach and ricotta tortellini
>> 1 small red onion, chopped
>> 3.5 ounces pancetta or bacon
>> Fresh Parmesan cheese
>> Olive oil

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.

2. While pasta is cooking, saute onions in a generous serving of olive oil.

3. Add pancetta and cook thoroughly.

4. Add pasta to the onion and pancetta mixture and stir, ensuing all of the pasta is coated with the olive oil.

5. Serve immediately and top with coarsely grated Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!

This is my favorite restaurant-reproduced meal we make at home. What about you? Do you recreate meals you’ve eaten in restaurants? What is your favorite?

It is that time of year-just after the first good post-summer rain, when the air is fresher, the trees are brighter and the faithful edible snails, or lumache, as we say in Italian, are coming out to play.

And this is serious business for people in my neck of my woods.

You see, the French don’t have the stronghold on preparing these delicacies … the Calabrians think they are just as good. (They just don’t market, or shall we say, share them as well as the French do.)

I saw this little sucker the other day and knew it was just a matter of time before my husband and father-in-law were digging in the dirt and growling at me for not trying them.

Unfortunately, somebody beat them to it.

Oh yes, I give it another week or so before my suocero fills his bag and starts serving ‘em up with a thick homemade marinara to my husband and his brother. And I’ll be there … just watching.

Have you ever tried snails? What did you think? Would you recommend them?

Don’t you just love it when people come up with the excuse to mix good food with a good cause? I know I do. And once again, Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy have joined forces for the O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness.

And I’d like to do my part.

Or well … my husband would.

Last week I told him I was running out of time to create an O Foods recipe to help Michelle and Sara spread the word about ovarian cancer. And what did he do?

He made us risottO!

So, my friends, here is my husband’s almost-famous porcini risotto, brought to you in honor of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Ingredients:

(Serves two)

>> 1 cup of arborio rice
>> 2 mushroom-flavored bouillon cubes
>> 7 ounces of frozen porcini mushrooms
>> 3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
>> Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
>> Fresh parsley
>> Olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat four cups of water in a medium-size pot and add the bouillon cubes. Check on salt level and adjust as needed.

2. In a pan, heat olive oil and add porcini mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the rice and stir well.

4. As water from the pan evaporates, slowly add the mushroom-flavored water, one ladle at a time.

5. Stir the rice to ensure it doesn’t stick.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the rice is fully cooked. (About 45 minutes)

7. When rice is firm, stir in the butter.

8. Top with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Buon Appetito!

I know, I know … it is getting late. But you can still join in the contest. Just read the rules below … then get in the kitchen! There is not much time!

CONTEST RULES

O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.

There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:

ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

PRIZES for recipe posts:

• 1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;

• 2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);

• 3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).

OR

TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.

Awareness posts PRIZE:

• One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.

———

From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:

• Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
• The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
• There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
• In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
• When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.

And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!

Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.

Before I moved to Italy cooking was somewhat of a chore for me … I was cooking for one, it wasn’t fun and I was trapped in an endless cycle of repeated recipes and take out (more on this later).

Now that I am here in the bel paese, I figure I can spice things up. And who better to spice things up with, than my caro marito?

Ahem.

You see, the truth is that even in the gastronomical capital of the world, well-meaning couples can fall into the routine of eating the same thing. Over and over. And over. Again.

(See? I told you you’d hear that again!)

So, starting tomorrow my husband and I are taking the *No Repeated Recipe Challenge (that we created ourselves) and are vowing not to repeat recipes for the whole month of September.

To kick things off, we challenged each other to a bruschetta “bake” off and while I’m not gonna tell you who won (cause, uhm, that would be mean) I will tell you that it is my recipe featured today.

So without further fanfare, I present to you …

Gorgonzola and Grape Bruschetta

Ingredients:
- Homemade Italian bread (sliced)
- Red Onion (finely chopped)
- Olive Oil
- Cream cheese
- Gorgonzola
- Red Grapes (cut into fourths)

Directions:

1. Slice your bread and place it on a grill, turn if necessary.

2. Saute onions while bread is grilling.

3. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese over bread as soon as you remove it from the grill.

4. Cover with a spoon of sauteed onions.

5. Sprinkle chunks of Gorgonzola over the onions.

6. Top with small pieces of red grapes.

Buon Appetito!

* To follow along with our progress-or to take the challenge yourself-follow My Bella Vita on Facebook and receive a link to a new recipe every Monday-Friday throughout September.